The Rundown – 23.07.17

Jul 23 2017
BY
Rachel Ayeh-Datey

It’s been a busy week. So much so that you probably haven’t had the time to catch up with everything going on in the world. Fortunately, (for you), we’ve got your back. Here’s what happened this week in the worlds of Politics, Technology, Sports, Music and World alongside a few other miscellaneous bits that caught our eye.

Politics

The UK and EU are still at odds over citizens’ rights and the amount the UK will pay to leave the bloc, at the end of the second week of Brexit talks. EU negotiator Michel Barnier said the UK had not been clear enough about where it stands on these issues and that was hampering progress.

Maths education for 16- to 19-year-olds in England will gain a £16m boost over two years, ministers have announced. It comes as a government commissioned maths review found too many teenagers dropped maths after GCSE, harming their job prospects and the wider economy. The cash, from existing budgets, will help more students take a maths A-level or core maths qualification, say ministers.

Sir Vince Cable is the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, after no-one stood against him. The 74-year old Twickenham MP was the only candidate on the ballot paper when nominations closed.

Students will have formal contracts with universities, so they can challenge them over too few teaching hours or if facilities are inadequate, says Universities Minister Jo Johnson. Mr Johnson highlighted growing concerns among students about not getting good value for money.

Prime Minister Theresa May is to take a three-week walking holiday in the Alps with husband Philip, Number 10 says. Mrs May is to spend five days in northern Italy next week, before attending the commemoration of the centenary of the battle of Passchendaele in Belgium. She will then resume her holiday with two weeks in Switzerland.

Labour has “no plans” to write off existing student debt and has never promised to do so, the party’s education spokeswoman has insisted. Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner accused the Tories of “wilfully misrepresenting” its plans amid claims such a move could cost £100bn.

World

Former US football star and actor OJ Simpson has been granted parole after nine years in a Nevada prison. Simpson, who was acquitted for a double murder in 1995, has been serving time for armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and 10 other charges. He is set to walk free in October after being convicted of a 2007 confrontation at a Las Vegas hotel.

North Korea is facing severe food shortages after being hit by its worst drought since 2001, a report from the United Nations says. Crop production in the country has been hampered by a prolonged dry period and food imports are now urgently required to fill the gap, the UN has warned.

Veteran US Republican Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer and is reviewing treatment options, according to his office. The options may include chemotherapy and radiation, his doctors said. The 80-year-old politician is in “good spirits” recovering at home.

A Saudi prince has been arrested on the orders of Saudi King Salman bin Abdelaziz after videos were circulated on social media which appeared to show the prince beating several people.

Music

Madame Tussauds, famed for its life-sized celebrity wax models, have come under fire for its latest waxwork of Beyonce which appeared to look nothing like the 20-time Grammy award winning songstress. In a since deleted tweet, the New York branch of the highly-popular wax museum boasted the figure of Queen Bey had arrived and would go on show until September.

Radiohead have defied critics, and supporters of a cultural boycott, to play a gig in Israel on Wednesday. In fact, the group played their longest show since 2006, playing 27 songs and two encores at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park. Protestors and activists had repeatedly called on the band to abandon the show in protest at Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians.

James Corden’s Carpool Karoke team is making a primetime music show for the BBC. Promising “the hottest bands and artists in the world right now” the series is due to debut in the autumn.

Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington has died aged 41, LA County Coroner says. The coroner said Bennington apparently hanged himself. His body was found at a private home in the county on Thursday.

Technology

The International Space Station has become the first “off planet” addition to Google Maps’ Street View facility. Astronauts helped capture 360-degree panoramas of the insides of the ISS modules, as well as views down to the Earth below.

Two of the largest dark web marketplaces have been shut down following a “landmark” international law enforcement investigation. The AlphaBay and Hansa sites had been associated with the trade in illicit items such as drugs, weapons, malware and stolen data.

Google is adding a personalised Facebook-style news feed to its homepage – Google.com -to show users content they may be interested in before they search. It will display news stories, features, videos and music chosen on the basis of previous searches by the same user.

Research from anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label suggests social media is making youngsters more anxious. Forty per cent said they felt bad if nobody liked their selfies and 35% said their confidence was directly linked to the number of followers they had. Instagram was highlighted as having become the vehicle most used for mean comments.

Sports

Usain Bolt has confirmed he will run the 100m and 4x100m relay at the World Championships in London in August, his final event before retiring.

Laura Muir believes she will be in her “best shape” for both the 1500m and the 5,000m at the World Championships in London in August. The Scot, 24, holds the British record for the 1500m and that will be her primary aim with the final on 7 August.

West Ham have agreed a deal with German club Bayer Leverkusen to sign Mexico striker Javier Hernandez for a reported fee of about £16m. The former Manchester United frontman, 29, will fly to London to finalise personal terms and have a medical.

Eight more Russian athletes have been cleared to compete as neutrals by world athletics’ governing body. A total of 61 cases were reviewed by the IAAF’s doping review board in the latest round of applications, with 53 declined.

Miscellaneous

Crime in England and Wales has seen its largest annual rise in a decade, according to the Office for National Statistics. The total number of crimes reported to and recorded by the police rose by 10% between April 2016 and March 2017 to almost five million. Violent crime was up by 18%, robbery by 16% and sex offences by 14%. The figures come as Home Office data shows the number of police officers is the lowest since 1985.

Half of pupils expelled from England’s schools have a mental health issue, according to analysis of official data. The Institute of Public Policy Research suggests if excluded students with undiagnosed problems were included, the rate would be much higher.

Deaths linked to Aids have halved in a decade, official figures shows. The condition, which is caused by HIV, used to be one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. A report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) showed deaths had fallen from a peak of 1.9 million in 2005 to 1 million last year.

Rising rates of life expectancy are grinding to a halt in England after more than 100 years of continuous progress, says a leading health expert. University College London expert Sir Michael Marmot said he was “deeply concerned” by the situation, calling it “historically highly unusual”. He said it was “entirely possible” austerity was to blame and said the issue needed looking at urgently.